Schneck Law Group LLC

Over $150,000,000.00 of property taxes have been refunded by the property tax attorneys associated with Schneck Law Group LLC.

Schneck Law Group LLC exclusively represents property owners in property tax appeals and focuses on reducing real estate taxes on commercial, industrial and multi-tenant real estate. Schneck Law Group LLC has 3 property tax attorneys and a staff of trained paralegals. The firm's founder and managing member, Michael Schneck, may be reached via email at mschneck@schnecklaw.com.

For a free consultation about a potential property tax appeal, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

On Monday, the New Jersey Supreme Court decided Hunterdon Medical Center v. Township of Readington. In a thirty-five page published opinion, the New Jersey Supreme Court affirmed a new test first put in place by Judge Kuskin of the Tax Court. The Supreme Court used this new test in order to discern whether the hospital at issue was in fact a “hospital” eligible for property tax exemption. In so doing, the New Jersey Supreme Court redefined the term “hospital” itself.

The New Jersey Supreme Court stated in part:

“In our view, the analysis for ‘hospital purposes’ must take into consideration the many medical pursuits permitted to the ‘modern’ hospital in New Jersey. A hospital can no longer be restrictively equated with a nineteenth, or even twentieth, century vision of a monolithic building, in which is offered continuous inpatient care or emergency treatment, twenty-four hours per day, to the sick, disabled, and infirm. Licensing authorities have allowed hospital activities to evolve as inpatient stays have diminished. Today, treatment often is delivered on an outpatient basis at a hospital’s main facility, as well as at off-site facilities, backed up by the promise of ready inpatient care from the general, acute-care hospital when necessary. Thus, a fair definition of core “hospital purposes” must acknowledge the variety of activities that a modern hospital can be expected to perform for patients, be they inpatients or outpatients. That said, a hospital’s expansive view of its mission does not necessarily equate with ‘hospital purposes’ in the tax exemption analysis.”

Ultimately, the Supreme Court affirmed the majority of the Tax Court’s and Appellate Division’s holdings, which affirmed the denial of the Hospital’s tax exemption application, and remanded the case back to the Tax Court for further fact-finding on one narrow issue. (The New Jersey Supreme Court remanded the case to the Tax Court for further fact-finding on the sole and precise issue as to whether the PT Service on the second floor of the hospital should be tax exempt.)

The full text of the New Jersey Supreme Court’s opinion may be found HERE.

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About Me

I only represent property owners on tax appeals. I personally review and analyse each property assessment to determine whether an appeal is warranted and only recommend an appeal where I have determined that there is a strong likelihood of success. Since 1990, I have saved my clients more than $100,000,000 in real estate taxes. The deadline to file a tax appeal in New Jersey is April 1 of the tax year or May 1 of the tax year if the town implemented a revaluation or reassessment.

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